


Not quite Un-right

by todd_casil



Category: Invader Zim, jthm - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 12:30:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 19,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14057046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/todd_casil/pseuds/todd_casil





	1. Chapter 1

Copyright: All characters belong to his greatness, Jhonen Vasquez.  
Summary: Tak is back to take over the Earth and the only thing that stands in her way are six unlikely heroes who make an even more unlikely group. Can they stop her? Or will they lead to their own downfall?

Chapter One

Kio the scientist walks down the Earth street with a determined and somewhat nervous stride. She’s been on this planet for about two weeks now but she’s still paranoid. Lard Nar is always saying she worries too much, but being chased around by a fleet of Irken bounty hunters can really rattle a person.  
Though there’s one thing he was right about: this disguise is perfect. Kio looks completely human, except for the hocks in her legs, but those were easily covered by her black dress.  
She stops in front of a round street and scans the houses. She grabs her memory device- humans call it a ‘camera’- from her utility belt and scans through the pictures in her storage. She stops on a picture of a small green house with thick pipes connecting it to its neighbors. She compares the picture to the house in front of her.  
She nods affirmatively and walks to the green house in front of her. She marches past the fence and down the walk, deadly aware that the creepy gnomes are watching her. That’s okay. After what she did, the resident deserves to watch her.  
Meanwhile, inside the house, a tall, slim, green-skinned boy lounges on the couch as he watches the TV screen with interest. He rubs his chin with his gloved hand as he watches the human girl walk towards his door.  
Who is this girl? He’s never seen her before, so what business does she have at his house?  
Perhaps she’s selling something. Earth solicitors always come to his house. He can usually get rid of them rather quickly.  
But there’s something… off about this girl. What is it?  
She rings the doorbell. Zim considers not answering in the hopes that she’ll believe no one’s home. But in the end he stands up and, after checking to see if his black wig is straight, answers the door.  
Before he can say anything, Zim notices a device in the girl’s hands. He recognizes it as a Vortian memory device, or a camera. What is this human doing with alien technology?  
Kio blinks as she compares the boy in front of her to the boy in the picture, “well, you’re taller than you used to be, but it’s definitely you.”  
Zim blinks with confusion then scowls at her. Yes, it’s true that for the three years he’s been trapped on this filthy ball of dirt, his height has increased. He’s now over five feet. But how did she know that?  
He examines the human. She’s about his height with straight black hair that sits on her shoulders. Her yellow eyes are unusually small for a human and she’s wearing a long black dress along with a brown leather belt covered in gadgets. Zim is certain he’s never seen her before, so how does she know he’s grown?  
Kio examines the boy in front of her. Instead of the Irken uniform he’s wearing in the picture, the disguised Irk is wearing tight black jeans, that look a bit too big on his small frame, a pink t-shirt with the Irken symbol on the front, long black gloves, and black combat boots. Not to mention his blue human contacts and black wig.  
She clears her throat as she attaches her memory device back onto her utility belt and says, “greetings, sir. You may not know me, but I know you. In fact,” she leans in and whispers, “I know a lot about you.”  
Zim blinks again, slightly worried, then scowls and snaps, “why should I care?”  
“You should care a lot,” Kio whispers harshly, “listen, there’s something I have to tell you but it’s not safe out here. May I come in?”  
Something I have to know? The thought spins around Zim’s head for a few long seconds.  
He squeezes the door frame and growls. Why should I listen to this human? I should just slam the door in her face! That’ll teach her to bother the great Zim!  
He almost does too, but something in the human’s face stops him. She looks determined… but scared. What’s she scared of?  
Zim sighs and holds open the door, “fine, but make it quick.”  
Kio smiles as she walks into the door. She looks around the room warily, “there aren’t any listening devices in here, right?”  
Zim scoffs insulted, “of course not!” Not except his own, of course.  
“Good,” Kio sighs then grabs her holographic device from her belt. She presses the ‘uncloak’ button and her human disguise falls.  
Zim watches with surprise and confusion as the girl’s features change. Now instead of pale pink skin, it’s a pale grey; instead of straight black hair, she has beige coloured horns that curl at the back of her head; and instead of a long black dress, she’s wearing a black long sleeve shirt, black shorts that go up to the hocks in her legs, black leg warmers, and black fingerless gloves, along with her utility belt.   
“A Vortian!” Zim exclaims with disgust.  
“Now, Zim, calm down,” Kio says calmly.  
“Don’t come near me, scum,” he hisses, “what are you doing here?”  
“Here, in your house? You invited me in.”  
“No, here on Earth!”  
“Looking for you.”  
“Why me?” Zim shouts.  
“If you stop screaming and let me explain, I can tell you.”  
He huffs, “how do I know you won’t try to attack me?”  
Kio sighs. This is harder than it should be, but still easier than it can be.  
With hesitation, she unclips her belt and puts it on the floor, “all my weapons are on the belt. Now can I explain?”  
With great reluctance, Zim nods and sits on the couch, “fine.”  
Kio sighs and sits next to him, “okay. Well, I’ll spare you my life story about a Vort scientist forced to waste her brilliant mind on minor repairs on the Massive and then gets thrown in prison for nearly blowing up the Tallest, which I didn’t do by the way.”  
Zim scoffs.  
“I also won’t tell you about how my brother and I escaped from prison by hiding deep within garbage so the DNA scanners wouldn’t be able to track us,” Kio shudders at the memory, “and instead I’ll skip ahead to a few years ago, when an ex-Irken invader took me in when I had nowhere else to go.”  
“The Irken’s name was Tak.”  
Zim’s eyes widen with fear and surprise.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

“After our escape,” Kio begins her story, deadly aware of the angry, seething Irken next to her, “my brother, Lard Nar, decided to join a resistance against Operation Impending Doom II. I was against joining. I had my own plans, and I didn’t want to endanger Nar.”  
“My plan was to assassinate as many Irken invaders as I could. It was crazy, I know, but a success. You see, back on Vort I was voted the third smartest scientist of the planet. I am able to create an Irken super computer from glass, an Earth motor, and a pizza box.”  
“So, I invented dozens of super weapons for my plan. I managed to destroy twelve invaders without receiving even a scratch on my body. When the Tallest found out about this, they sent Irken bounty hunters to guard the invaders who haven’t been killed. I admit it freaked me out. I mean, if there’s one group you don’t mess with, it’s the Irken bounty hunters.”  
“After I realized this, I decided to abort my plan and join the Resisty. Safety in numbers, right? Wrong. After I joined the Resisty, I told Nar what I did. However, someone was listening. This ‘someone’ turned out to be an Irken spy. They told the Tallest that I was the one who assassinated the invaders, and they sent the entirety of the Irken bounty hunters after me. When I found this out, I left the Resisty and went on the run.”  
“The bounty hunters chased me all over the galaxy and beyond. The only reason I wasn’t caught was because of my amazing intellect. But one day, my ship was shot down and I crashed onto an unknown planet. I was unconscious, but before the bounty hunters could capture me, a different, less dangerous Irken picked me up: Tak.”  
“Tak? Less dangerous?!” Zim blurts out.  
“She wasn’t dangerous at the time,” Kio says slowly, “this was only a few days after you defeated her, and she was weak. That’s why she needed me.”  
“She knew who I was and that I was wanted, so she made a deal with me. If I made some stuff for her, she’d protect me from the bounty hunters.”  
“What did you make for her?” Zim asks quietly, but with a dangerous tone.  
“Well, I repaired her SIR unit and made her a ship and a couple of weapons,” she says carefully.  
“You did what?!”  
Not even Zim is sure of what kept him from freaking out during Kio’s story, but he couldn’t contain himself any longer. He wanted to squeeze her throat till her head popped off.  
“Zim. Zim, please calm down,” Kio jumps to her feet, her hands in front of her as Zim stalks towards her.  
“How can I calm down? You healed my second greatest enemy! You know she’s going to come kill me, right?” he snaps.  
“Yes! That’s why I’m here. Listen, I was with Tak for almost two years. She did protect me, but she treated me like a useless slave. When I found out that she wanted revenge, I stole her ship and left for Earth. It took me almost six months to get here, then I crash landed on the other side of the planet. I spent the last two weeks looking for you to warn you.”  
Kio takes a deep breath, “in exactly four days, Tak will attack and destroy Earth, and you with it.”  
“Why should I believe you?” Zim hisses, “you murdered twelve Irken invaders, worked for my greatest enemy, and you’re Vortian! How do I know you’re not trying to trick me?”  
“I assure you, I’m not,” she sighs, “but I never expected you to believe me. Fortunately, I always have a back-up plan.”  
Kio picks up her utility belt and wraps it back around her waist. She then detaches a cell phone like device and places it on the couch.  
“If you need me for anything, press this square button,” she says as she presses the ‘cloak’ button on her holographic device.  
With her disguise back on, she bows to Zim and marches to the door.  
“Wait, where are you going?” Zim asks harshly.  
Kio looks back to him and smiles, “to find my back-up plan.”  
And with that, the Vortian scientist closes the door on an angry and somewhat confused Irken.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Dib paces back and forth angrily on his bedroom floor. He glares at his computer screen as he mumbles to himself.  
“Stupid Zim. He shouldn’t have snapped at her like that. She’s just trying to protect him. Though, I do see his point. She did work for Tak. Still, what if she was telling the truth? Stupid Zim…”  
He collapses on his computer chair and watches the Irken throw away his disguise as he grabs the cell phone device and retreats to his lab.  
Dib blinks, “what is he thinking? If he really didn’t believe her, then he wouldn’t have taken that phone.”  
He runs his hand down his scythe lock thoughtfully. He’d like to meet this girl. She doesn’t seem too bad, by alien standards.  
He hears the doorbell ring. After a few seconds of indistinct chatter, Gaz shouts, “Dib! Door!”  
Door? Somebody’s at the door for him?  
Dib leaves his room and jogs to the front door. He stops to see who it is and instantly recognizes the black haired girl as the disguised Vortian.  
“Hello,” Kio bows her head to him.  
“Hi,” Dib mutters then clears his throat, “um… come in, I have your homework upstairs.”  
The disguised scientist blinks with confusion but follows the human to his room. Once there, she grabs her camera and compares a picture of younger Dib to the current Dib.  
“You’ve grown considerably,” she comments, “and you’ve also changed your uniform.”  
“Huh? Oh, yeah. My old clothes stopped fitting me a long time ago,” Dib says as he dusts off his clean shirt.  
Instead of his usual outfit he wore as a kid, he now wears a red shirt with an angry face on the front, black jeans, and sneakers. He stopped wearing his trench coat when he outgrew it and never got a new one.  
“Anyway,” Dib locks his bedroom door and faces Kio, “I know what you are. You’re a Vortian scientist, correct?”  
Kio is completely taken aback, “how did you know?”  
He points at his computer, “I was watching your meeting with Zim.”  
She looks at the computer and gasps when she sees that the screen shows a sky view of Zim’s living room.  
“You have cameras in his house?” she asks.  
Dib shakes his head, “only the one.”  
“Zim doesn’t even know,” she sighs as she drops her disguise, “well, that makes my job easier.”  
“I’m actually glad you stopped by,” Dib says, “I want to tell you that I believe you, though I’m not sure I trust you.”  
“Excellent,” Kio squeals.  
“But I have some questions for you,” he says as he sits on his bed.  
“I’ll try my best to answer them,” she says as she sits next to him.  
“First, why do you want to save Earth?” Dib asks.  
“Well, honestly, I didn’t. Not at first anyway. When I heard Tak’s plan I just wanted to save Zim,” she tells him.  
“But why?”  
“I felt bad for him. Tak told me that he was never a real invader since he messed up Operation Impending Doom I. She laughed when she said he didn’t know and that he thought the Tallest sent him here for a secret mission, not just to get rid of him. I thought was cruel.”  
He was banished to Earth? And he doesn’t even know?” Dib exclaims.  
“I gather not,” Kio shrugs, “anyway, when I escaped Tak, my primary motive was to save Zim. But then I crashed and spent the last two weeks exploring this planet. And I realized that it’s truly a beautiful place. Sure, there are some ugly pimples, but all in all it’s a wonderful place with wonderful creatures. And I decided I wanted to help it.”  
“But how did you find out about me?” Dib ask.  
“With Tak’s help. Well, her computer’s help at least. I hacked into it before I left so I could find out Zim’s location. Then I saw your file and noticed you helped defeat her. So I decided to take your picture, just in case.”  
“I see,” Dib mutters and looks at his hands. Only two thoughts run through his head: one, he had to figure out a way to stop Tak and two, Zim. Zim was banished by his people and he doesn’t even know it. As much as he hates to admit it, he actually felt bad for him.  
“Um, Dib?” Kio nudges him.  
“Oh, what?” he snaps back into the real world.  
“Got any more questions for me?” she asks.  
“Yeah. What’s your name?”  
“Kio. Well, it’s actually Lard Kiologi, but everyone calls me Kio.”  
Dib smiles, “well, Kio, how about we work together to defeat Tak?”  
“Really?” she squeals then wraps her arm around his shoulders, “excellent, excellent, excellent. I’m so glad you believe me.”  
Dib stiffens like a board as she hugs him then pushes her off and asks, “do you have a place to stay?”  
“Nope,” she says plainly, a big smile on her face.  
“Then you can stay here. I’m sure Dad won’t mind,” he states.  
“Okay,” she nods then looks at the computer, “what about Zim?”  
“Don’t worry about him,” Dib waves the question away as he opens his door, “come on, I have something to show you.”  
Kio nods and starts to turn on her disguise but Dib stops her, “don’t worry about that. Dad’s not home and Gaz won’t care.”  
So Kio leaves her disguise off and follows him through the house.  
“Dib? What is ‘dad’ and ‘Gaz’?” she asks.  
“Gaz is my sister and Dad is my parent,” he answers.  
“Oh, your litter,” Kio smiles and nods.  
“What?” Dib asks.  
“Well, back on Vort, we referred to our families as litter,” she says.  
“Really? So how are children born?” he asks.  
“Everything is scientific. Vort children are born from test tubes, kind of like Irkens, except Vortians can have actual parents,” she explains, “my brother, Lard Nar, was created first then me two years after.”  
“I see. So are there different kinds of sciences on Vort?” Dib asks.   
“Sure. Our sciences are much like the ones on Earth. There is biology, astronomy, chemistry,” she counts them off on her three fingers then points at herself, “I’m an engineer, like Nar. I studied chemistry for a little bit, but I accidently botched up some chemicals and increased my height. That’s why I’m taller than most Vortians.”  
“Is that a bad thing?” he asks.  
“Probably not, but it can be inconvenient sometimes,” she shrugs then looks around, “so where are we going?”  
“Here,” Dib pushes open the door to the garage and leads Kio to the farthest, darkest corner of the room. There he turns on the lights, revealing a pink, crashed Voot Cruiser from three years ago.  
“This is Tak’s old ship,” Dib says, “it’s been sitting for the last three years. It could definitely use some fixing up.”  
“Wow!” Kio exclaims and claps her hands as she examines the ship, “I could fix ‘er up easy. But I need some tools. I only have a few with me.”  
“There are some tools in my dad’s lab,” Dib says.  
“Excellent!” she cheers as she grabs a pair of goggles from her belt and slips them on over her beady, yellow eyes, “bring me one of everything and I’ll get started.”  
Dib nods and leaves the excited Vortian to get the tools. However, on the way to the lab, he hears something from upstairs, more specifically from his room. He trots up the stairs and realizes it’s coming from his computer. It’s grunting and shouting sounding from his speakers.  
He turns off the screen saver and stares at the screen as Zim’s living room comes into view. The couch is torn apart, the TV is smashed, and strange pink puddles are on the carpet.  
Judging from the noise, Dib can tell that whatever is causing it is in the kitchen. He starts wishing that he installed cameras in the kitchen as well as the living room so he could see what’s going on.  
His wish is granted when something green and pink tumbles into view. It’s an Irken! Not Zim, someone else. Someone Dib has never seen before.  
Who is this Irken? And why does he appear to be fighting Zim?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Zim growls to himself as he grabs the Vortian cell phone and throws off his disguise. He steps into the garbage can and takes the small elevator to his lab.  
“Why should I believe that little Vortian?” he mumbles to himself, putting emphasis on ‘little’ since she’s actually taller than him.  
The elevator opens and he marches to his main computer and collapses into his computer chair. Maybe he should call the Tallest about this. But will they answer? They’re haven’t answered for over a year not since… that day…  
Zim whimpers at the memory and rests his tired head on the keyboard. His large pink eyes snap open at the familiar sound of metal footsteps, but he doesn’t bother to lift his head.  
“Aw, Masta’s sad,” Gir coos sadly as he pulls himself onto the keyboard and pats Zim’s head, “it’s okay, Masta. I’ll make you happee.”  
Zim growls slightly but is too lazy to snap at Gir so he lets him pat the back of his head. He’d never admit it, but it does feel kind of nice. It’s almost putting him to sleep.  
His lull is interrupted by his computer warning, “security breach. Unknown intruder.”  
Zim sighs as he jumps out of his chair and takes the elevator back to the house. It’s probably that Vort girl again, coming to beg for him to trust her. The thought causes him to laugh a little.  
He puts on his wig and contacts as he walks to the front door and peeks outside. He looks around but sees nothing.  
He closes the door and glowers at the ceiling, “Computer, run a diagnostic.”  
He starts to march away from the door, but before he can even take three steps, his antennae start twitching. He blinks and turns towards his door as the sound of a Voot Cruiser grows louder and louder.  
Zim growls as he peeks through his front window. A narrow, purple Voot Cruiser has landed in his front yard. A short Irken dressed in a purple uniform hops out.  
“Computer! Initiate defenses!” Zim shouts to the ceiling.  
As soon as the Irken steps on the ground, the gnomes start shooting pink lasers. He jumps out of the way, grabs a laser gun from under his top, and blows their heads off. He lands gracefully in front of the door and smashes it off its hinges.  
Zim jumps back as he enters into the house.  
“Sploodge! What is the meaning of this?” Zim snaps.  
“I am here to arrest you in the name of Tallest Tak,” Invader Sploodge answers in a monotone voice.  
“Tallest Tak?” he questions. His squeedly spooch ties into a thousand knots at the idea of a tall Tak controlling Irk.  
Zim snarls as Sploodge stalks towards him, his laser pointing at his head. Well, whether or not Tak is the new Tallest, he still won’t allow himself to be captured. Zim is nobody’s prisoner.  
His boots squeak as he spins around and dives behind the couch while Sploodge fires lasers at him.  
Zim covers his head and shouts, “Computer! Open the entrance to storage room two!”  
The couch lifts up and Zim starts to fall back into the rectangular hole, but Sploodge grabs the back of his shirt and pulls back with such force that his wig flies off. Afterwards, he shoots the couch with his laser so it breaks apart and falls to the floor.   
Zim gasps as he feels the tip of the laser gun jab into the back of his head. But before Sploodge can pull the trigger, Zim slams his bony elbow into his face so hard that it cuts his skin and sends him crashing into the TV. He gags as pink blood starts dripping from his face.  
Zim, feeling quite empowered by that last attack, stands up to his full height and glares at the smaller Irken, “you’re staining my carpets with your leaky face, shorty.”  
Sploodge glares daggers at him as he tries to stop his face from bleeding. As he does so, he looks around for his laser gun. Zim realizes what he’s doing and does the same.  
There it is! In the kitchen. Sploodge must’ve accidently thrown it when Zim elbowed him.   
Zim’s boots squeak again as he runs across the living room to the kitchen. Sploodge, realizing what he’s running for, chases after him and tries to tackle him. But since he’s so much smaller than Zim, he only manages to wrap his arms and legs around his waist.  
Zim stops running as something small and annoying wraps itself around his waist. He looks down and smirks at how truly pathetic Sploodge looks. He grabs him by the antenna, pulls him off, and throws him into the kitchen wall.  
Pink blood constantly drips from Sploodge’s face as Zim strides towards the laser gun. Sploodge jumps to his feet and clumsily runs towards Zim. Zim lifts his foot and kicks him into the living room as he picks up his new gun.  
While Zim examines his new weapon- a purple laser gun with an Irken symbol on the sides- Sploodge tries to collect himself on the living room floor. Just as he starts to get to his feet, Zim strides towards him, with the laser gun in his gun.  
“Come on, Sploodge,” Zim purrs as he glares at the green and pink mess in front of him, “beg Zim for mercy and maybe he won’t kill you.”  
“Never,” Sploodge growls as pink blood drips from his mouth, “I will nuh-never beg a defect like you for mer-mercy.”  
Zim’s eye twitches, “defect? Zim? Never!”  
“In three years you were never able to take over this mud ball. You’re not an invader, Zim. You never were. You’re just a defect. Nobody likes you, not even your precious Tallest.”  
Zim’s gloved fingers squeezes the trigger. Sploodge grunts and falls backwards as a colourless laser rips through his chest.  
“Ha!” Zim laughs as Sploodge dies in a puddle of his own blood, “who’s the defect now, Sploodge? Huh? Huh?”  
Zim smiles but it’s obviously forced as his eyes constantly twitch. He rips out his contacts and smashes them to the floor as he stomps to the garbage can. He steps inside and begins the descent to his lab while he bites his lip and tries to keep the liquid from spilling out of his eyes.  
Finally, the door opens to his lab. Gir’s still there; he’s playing with a toy moose while he sings, “taco, taco, taco.”  
He looks up and notices Zim walk slowly to his chair. He sits down and buries his face in his hands. Gir examines the strange sight before finally concluding, “Masta’s sleepy,” and running off to get a blanket.  
“Sleepy,” Zim laments as he rests his head on the keyboard and closes his eyes, “yeah, that’s one way to put it.”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Dib constantly plays with his scythe lock as he waits for Zim to walk in. Class is going to start in one minute. Where is he?  
Dib didn’t tell Kio what happened between Zim and that invader, Sploodge. But it bothered him so much that he couldn’t spend any time around her. He stayed in his room, while she worked on the ship in garage, and watched Zim’s living room but he never showed up.  
When he had to leave for Skool, he left Kio in the garage with any tools she may need. She promised she’d stay there until he came back.  
Now he’s in the classroom, waiting for the usually punctual Zim to walk in. But he still hasn’t shown up. Where is he?  
Finally, just as the bell starts ringing, Zim walks in. He looks more tired and depressed than usual. He has bags under his false, blue eyes, he’s slouching, and even his wig is limp.  
“Zim,” Dib breathes sadly as he watches the Irken slouch in his desk.  
“Now that everyone’s here, let’s begin,” the teacher turns to the whiteboard and starts a boring lesson that no one will listen to.  
Dib focuses more on Zim than on the teacher. He feels almost worried about the alien. He’s never seen him like this. No, that’s wrong. He saw him like this once before, about a year ago.  
Dib remembers Kio telling him about the Tallest, and how they banished Zim.  
Does he know?

Lunchtime. After Dib picks up his cafeteria food, he goes to sit down with Gaz, but stops when he notices Zim. He’s sitting by himself and poking at his ‘food’ with little interest.  
Dib chews on his lip as he sits down opposite Zim. He glares at him and asks, “what do you want, Dib-monkey?”  
“I’m eating lunch here,” Dib glares back,  
“Don’t you usually eat with your sibling unit?” he asks.  
“Not today,” he says plainly.  
Zim scoffs but drops the subject. He grabs his Irken soda drink and sips from the straw, never once taking his eyes off Dib. He watches as the hyuman chews on the so-called ‘edible’ slop in front of him. He seems strange, not as… insult-y as usual.  
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Dib finally says, “I have a Vortian scientist living in my garage.”  
Zim spits out his drink with the straw still in his mouth. He grabs his chest as he coughs and tries to catch his breath.  
“A… Vortian… scientist?” he hacks, “why?”  
“We’re working together to defeat Tak,” he answers.  
“So you believe her? Stupid, gullible Dib,” he laughs.  
“I have no reason not to believe her,” he snaps.  
“Except that she worked for Tak!”  
“She wants to help Earth now. And I believe her! And if you’re as smart as you think you are, then you’d believe he too,” he snaps.  
Zim starts to retort, but his antenna twitch underneath his wig. He leans back and examines the cafeteria without moving his head. Most of the students here are used to Zim and Dib’s shouting, so they don’t even notice anymore. But among the ignorant masses of Earth smeets, one stands out. Zim narrows his eyes as he feels for the laser gun underneath his shirt.  
Dib starts to say something but Zim reaches over the tables and plants his hand over his mouth before he can. Zim stares at the strange child without actually looking at her. There’s definitely something off about her, the same way there was something off about the Vortian.  
Zim snarls then grabs Dib’s scythe lock, pulling him out of the cafeteria and down the hallway.  
“Zim? What are you doing?” Dib snaps as Zim tugs him down the hall.  
“Shut up, Earth-stink,” he snarls as he pulls him out the front door and pushes him under the stairs.  
“Listen, Dib-meat,” he growls as he kneels in front of Dib, “I do believe the Vortian. I literally had the proof beaten into me. But I don’t trust her.”  
“Well, I don’t trust her either,” Dib mumbles.  
“Anyway, Tak is going to destroy both of us. Usually I couldn’t care less what happens to you. But your stupidity does endanger my existence, and I can’t give Tak or her minions the satisfaction of destroying me. So I request you become my temporary minion.”  
Dib blinks, “you want me to work with you?”  
“No, no no no no no. Not with me. Zim works with no one. No, I want you to work for me,” Zim says, “the Vortian as well.”  
“Oh… uh,” Dib is completely speechless.  
“Come on,” Zim grabs his laser gun out from under his shirt and pulls Dib out from under the steps.  
“Where are we going?” Dib asks.  
“Your house,” he growls as he starts running down the street, tugging Dib behind him.  
Dim pulls his arm out of Zim’s grasp but runs alongside him. Dib focuses on getting to his house, but Zim constantly looks around. He can’t get over this feeling of being watched. He squeezes his gun for comfort.   
Zim almost breathes a sigh of relief when they get off the Skool’s street, but it gets cut short by a small explosion destroying the sidewalk in front of them.  
Zim and Dib fall backwards and look for the cause of the explosion. Zim snarls as he notices a small, female Irken on top of a building to their right. She’s wearing a purple uniform, like Sploodge, and is holding a huge, bazooka-like gun. She was definitely the one Zim saw in the cafeteria, except she was disguised as a human.  
“Who’s that?” Dib asks as the female Irken jumps off the building and lands in front of them.  
“Yuli,” Zim hisses.  
“Hi, Zim. Nice to see you,” Yuli purrs in an angelic voice.  
“Can’t say the same,” he growls as he steps in front of Dib, his laser gun charging in his hand.  
“I’m sorry we can’t spend the day catching up, but I must capture you in the name of Tallest Tak,” she says with fake sympathy.  
Zim squeezes the trigger and begins firing lasers at Yuli. Despite her huge gun, she easily dodges the threats and begins firing her own larger, more dangerous shots. Zim grabs the front of Dib’s shirt and tugs him into an alley where they duck down as Yuli continues to fire.   
“Stay here,” Zim demands as he jumps to his feet and runs to the street.  
“Zim, wait!” Dib shouts but he ignores him.  
His boots kick up gravel as he runs down the street and fires at Yuli. She easily jumps out of the way and shoots at him. He dodges the shots but rather clumsily; one false move and he’ll be gone.  
Dib bites on his knuckle as he watches the fight. He has to help but what can he do? He hasn’t been in a real fight since he and Zim were kids. Still, he can’t let this alien girl kill him.  
Dib grabs a nearby garbage can lid and runs into the street. He holds the lid like a Frisbee then throws it at Yuli’s head.  
Zim dodges another shot, completely oblivious to Dib. He squeezes the trigger and fires another laser. She jumps out of the way and starts to fire her gun but something round and metal smacks her in the back of her head before she can. She exclaims and drops her gun as she rubs the bruising spot. She turns around and glares at the attacker.  
Dib stiffens as Yuli glares at him. She picks up her gun and fires it at him. He freezes as the large beam flies towards him.  
Zim gasps as Yuli pulls the trigger. He runs across the road and slams into Dib so instead of the beam hitting Dib, it hits Zim’s arm. He exclaims in pain as it skids across his forearm, burning his green skin. He falls to his knees, gripping his right arm.  
“Zim!” Dib exclaims and kneels beside the hurting alien.  
Yuli smirks and stalks up to them. Dib grabs Zim’s laser gun and steps in front of him. He won’t be able to beat her, but he can at least try.  
Yuli pulls the trigger and Dib winces back, but nothing shoots out of the barrel. Instead the gun starts beeping and suddenly explodes in her hands. Dib covers his face as Yuli flies backwards from the blast.  
He lowers his arms and watches as Kio walks out of a nearby alley, tossing a black remote around in her hand.  
She smirks as Yuli glares at her, “one thing you don’t know about me, Yuli- I always include a self-destruct feature in my inventions.”  
“Kio!” Dib exclaims happily.  
“Are you guys alright?” she asks.  
“I am. I don’t know about Zim though,” he sighs.  
“I’ll be fine,” he grunts as he forces himself to his feet. He grabs his gun from Dib’s hands and stumbles over to Yuli.  
“Are you going to kill me, Zim?” she coughs as he points the gun to her head, “well, go ahead. Tak will win. She’s stronger than you could ever hope to be.”  
“She won’t beat Zim!” he shouts, “and if she’s so strong, how come I’ve already killed two of her minions?”  
Before she can say something, he pulls the trigger and a pink laser rips through her skull. Afterwards, four spider legs come out of his PAK and shoot the body with lasers until it’s nothing but a scorched mess.  
“There. Now no one will be able to trace her back to us,” Zim nods as his legs go back into his PAK.  
Dib and Kio walk up to him. They stare at the burnt body for a few seconds then turn around and march to Dib’s house.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Dib wraps the gauze around Zim’s forearm, making sure to completely cover his laser burns. Zim is completely stiff as Dib does so. He hates that the hyuman is touching him with his germy hands, but Zim couldn’t do it effectively with one hand so Dib had to.  
They’re in the bathroom right now. Kio went straight to the garage once they got home and started working on the ship while Dib took Zim upstairs to bandage his arm.  
“Zim, you deliberately pushed me out of the way back there, didn’t you?” Dib asks.  
“What gives you that idea?” Zim asks.  
“Well, the fact that you pushed me out of the way so I wouldn’t get hit by the laser,” he says.  
“You’re crazy. I slipped is all,” he shrugs.  
“I don’t believe you,” he sniffs.  
Zim growls but drops the subject. Not even he’s sure why he saved the Dib-monkey. But the idea of Dib being destroyed by someone other than him scared Zim. He didn’t like it, so he had to stop it somehow.  
As Dib finishes bandaging, they hear a loud smash downstairs. Zim pulls his glove on over his bandages and follows Dib downstairs to investigate the noise.  
They run into the garage and Dib starts to ask Kio is she heard that noise but stops when he notices a strange, busted gadget on the floor.  
Kio is leaning over the top of the ship, working on the back upside down.  
“Kio? What are you doing?” Dib asks cautiously, sensing the slight hostility in the room.  
“Working on the ship,” she says in a low voice.  
“What’s that thing on the floor?”  
“A communication device.”  
“Why is it broken?”  
“I broke it.”  
“Why?”  
“Because,” she slips off the ship onto her pointed feet and pulls her goggles onto her forehead, “I had to break something and that was the most useless thing I had.”  
“Why did you have to break something?” Dib asks.  
“Isn’t it obvious, Dib-meat? The Vortian is piss off,” Zim shrugs.  
“Pissed… off?” Kio questions.  
“It means angry,” he says.  
“Ah. Then yes, yes I am,” she nods.  
“What are you angry about?” Dib asks.  
“My major miscalculation,” she growls, “I miscalculated so bad that you guys nearly got killed. If I didn’t have my goggles, then you might’ve been.”  
“What was your miscalculation?” Zim asks.  
Kio sighs, “I neglected to mention something about Tak because I figured you two had enough to worry about.”  
“About three days after I joined Tak, she started to gather an army. By the time I left, about two years later, she had four Irkens: Sploodge, Yuli, Tenn, and Flobee.”  
“Wait, wait. So you’re saying that Tak has a group of Irken invaders? And you didn’t tell me?” Zim exclaims angrily.  
“Well, you didn’t believe me about Tak and I wasn’t sure that these Irken would be a problem. That was my miscalculation,” Kio says nervously as she backpedals away from Zim.  
“But why would they join an ex-invader?” Dib asks.  
“That I’m not entirely sure of. One day Invader Tenn showed up and Irken Invaders just started following and working for Tak,” she shrugs.  
“Is that why they refer to her as Tallest Tak?” Zim shudders as he says the name.  
“I guess so,” she starts pacing around the room, rubbing her chin, “right now we need a plan and a base of operations. Any ideas?”  
“Well, we can’t use Zim’s house. Tak knows where it is,” Dib points out.  
“Doesn’t she know where your house is too?” Zim snaps.  
“Actually, no,” Kio says, “Dib’s location was not in her computer’s records. I had to find it myself.”  
“Then why don’t we just stay here? At least for the time being,” Dib suggests.  
“Sounds good,” Kio nods and looks at Zim, “Zim?”  
“Fine,” Zim grumbles, “but I have to go to my house and pick up some stuff.”  
“What kind of stuff?” Dib asks.  
“Important stuff!” Zim lies. Nothing in his house was important.  
“Okay, let’s go,” he shrugs.  
“Wait, you’re coming?” he asks.  
“Of course,” Kio nods as she attaches her goggles back to her belt and turns on her disguise, “safety in numbers, remember?”  
“Ugh, fine,” Zim groans as the three of them leave the garage for Zim’s house.  
“So, Kio?” Dib asks after a few minutes of silent walking, “do you know if Tak has any other Irkens in her army?”  
“No. But I’ve been gone for over a year, so she probably does,” she shrugs.  
They make it to Zim’s house and Dib looks around for Sploodge’s ship or other means of transportation but doesn’t see any. That’s because last night Zim cleaned everything up so it doesn’t look like there was a fight.  
Zim opens his door and shouts, “Gir!”  
A red-eyed Gir lands in front of him, “yes, my master?”  
“Gather Minimoose and other necessary items. We’ll be staying at the Dib’s for a couple days,” Zim commands.  
Gir turns back to his usual turquoise colour and cheers, “a vacation! Whee!” as he runs off.  
Zim sighs then shouts, “Computer! Install all necessary data into a universal memory drive then erase said data from your memory.”  
“What are you doing, Zim?” Dib asks.  
“On the off chance that Tak tries to hack into my base for information, she won’t find anything of use. Any info she wants will be,” a green computer chip shoots out of the wall and into Zim’s hand, “on this drive, which I will keep in my PAK.”  
As he puts the drive inside his PAK, Gir, in his dog suit, and Minimoose appear in front of them, each with their own little suitcase.  
“Yay, we gonna stay with Monkey Man!” Gir cheers.  
“Monkey Man?” Dib questions.  
“Oh, yeah. You remember about two years ago when I sicced those evil monkeys on you? Gir’s been calling you ‘Monkey Man’ ever since,” Zim laughs.  
“Oh, how nice,” Dib grumbles sarcastically.  
“Alright, let’s go,” he demands and leads the way back to Dib’s house, an entourage of different species following close behind.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Zim throws his wig and contacts onto the coffee table and stretches out his antennae as Dib puts Intestines of War into the DVD player. Gir jumps out of his dog suit and cheers louder than ten thousand kids on Christmas. Beside him, Minimoose squeaks.  
“I thought this movie was dumb,” Dib comments as he turns on the TV.  
“That’s why Gir likes it,” Zim yawns, “so, Dib-worm, where is my sleeping quarters?”  
“I don’t know. I suppose… you can… sleep… in my… room…” he says hesitantly.  
“Your room?” Zim growls with disgust.  
“I can set up an air mattress on my floor. It won’t be that bad,” he shrugs and smirks, “or you can sleep in Gaz’s room. Just a warning, she has killer stuffed animals.”  
Zim stiffens then shivers, “ugh, fine. I’ll sleep in your room.”  
“Hey, I don’t like it any more than you do,” Dib snaps as he walks to the garage.   
“Where are you going?” Zim asks harshly.  
“I’m gonna ask Kio where she wants to sleep,” he shouts then slams the door.  
“I think it’s nice that you two get along so well,” Kio comments as Dib walks over to her.  
“Get along? In what universe do we get along?” Dib exclaims.  
“Oh, I’ve angered you,” Kio looks up at him apologetically, “perhaps I used the wrong phrase. I’m just saying that you two interact well, and I think it’s nice.”  
“Whatever,” Dib grunts, “where do you want to sleep?”  
“Here,” she shrugs as she continues working on the ship, “I don’t need much sleep. You see, Vortians spend the majority of their time in labs. As a result, we’ve adapted to sleeping as little as possible. I usually just need short naps.”  
“Huh,” Dib blinks, “alright. What about food?”  
Kio rubs her stomach, “I do feel rather malnourished.”  
He nods at the door, “come on. I’ll get you something to eat.”  
She smiles and follows him into the kitchen where he starts rummaging through the cupboards. The kitchen is usually fully stocked, but he’s not sure what Vortians eat.  
“So uh, got any preferences?” Dib asks.  
“Well, Vortians usually eat vitamin capsules. They save time but they’re not very filling,” Kio explains.  
He closes the door of his fridge and picks up the phone, “I’ll order pizza. Do you like pizza?”  
She shrugs, “I don’t know. I never had it.”  
“Would you be willing to try it?” he asks as he dials the number to Bloaty’s Pizza Hog.  
“I’m always willing to try new things,” she smiles.  
“Good. Go wait in the living room while I order,” he waves her away as an employee answers the phone.  
She nods and walks into the living room. She sits next to Zim and Minimoose as a man’s intestines explode on the TV. Gir laughs, Minimoose squeaks, and Zim rolls his eyes.  
“Human entertainment is so… peculiar,” Kio comments.  
“That’s one way to put it. I think it’s boring,” Zim shrugs.  
“I like it,” Gir squeals.  
Minimoose squeaks.  
“The pizza will be here in a couple minutes,” Dib announces as he leaves the kitchen.  
“Pizza?” Zim questions.  
“Yeah. I ordered pizza cause Kio was hungry,” Dib nods as he sits between Minimoose and Gir.  
“Yuck! But pizza is disgusting,” Zim wretches.  
“It is?” Kio asks.  
“That’s Zim’s opinion. It’s actually really good,” Dib smiles.  
“That’s your opinion,” Zim mumbles.  
After that they watch the movie in peace. Well, except for Gir’s incessant giggling. After a couple minutes the doorbell rings and the delivery man drops off the pizza. Dib rests the box on the coffee table and opens the top, revealing an extra cheesy pizza with pepperoni slices and bacon bits on the top.  
“OooooooOOOOOOOOoooooh,” Gir says in awe.  
“That’s pizza?” Kio asks.  
“Yup,” Dib nods as he picks up a piece and hands it to Kio. She examines the strange, gooey triangle in her hand and watches as Dib grabs his own and bites into it. She does the same.  
“Oh,” she exclaims with surprise and delight as a melody of flavours explodes in her mouth, “wow, it’s so good!”  
“Bleh,” Zim gags as Kio, Dib, and Gir devour the pizza.  
Minimoose squeaks.  
“It’s so good,” Kio squeals, “Zim, why don’t you like it?”  
“Hyuman food is disgusting,” he sticks out his tongue and backs away from the food without actually getting off the couch.  
Dib laughs at Zim and Kio’s reaction. And it’s an actual laugh, not one of his evil laughs or fake laughs, but an actual, hearty, happy teenager laugh. It feels good.  
The front door opens and Gaz walks in. Just like Zim and Dib, Gaz also wears clothes different from the ones she wore as a child. Instead of a black dress she now wears tight black jeans covered in chains and a tight black t-shirt with her skull necklace.  
She examines the display before her with mild interest.  
“What’s this? Some kind of pizza party for freaks?” Gaz asks as she stares at Zim and Kio.  
“Oh, hey, Gaz,” Dib smiles, “this is Kio, she’s a Vortian.”  
“Hi,” Kio waves cheerfully.  
“What is she doing here?” Gaz asks, completely ignoring her.  
“She and Zim will be staying here for a couple days. Kio’s staying in the garage and Zim will be sleeping in my room,” Dib explains, still smiling.  
Gaz blinks then rolls her eyes, “fairy boys.”  
Dib’s face lights up like a Christmas light. He leans over the back of the couch, waving his hands and shaking his head, “no, no, no! Nothing like that! We’ll be sleeping in separate beds and everything.”  
Gaz laughs cruelly at his reaction, “whatever.”  
Zim notices Dib’s red face and starts laughing at how stupid he looks. Kio starts laughing at the situation and how generally funny it is. Gir starts laughing because everyone else is laughing. Dib’s face turns a deeper red but he starts laughing with everyone else. Minimoose squeaks but in a way that almost sounds like he’s laughing.  
The six of them laugh together like a group of friends, even if they’re far from it.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Dib steps out of the shower, wringing out his black hair. He wraps a towel around his waist and pushes his round glasses up his nose.  
He forgot his pyjamas in his room. Zim and the others should still be in the living room. He should be able to get to his room without being noticed.  
He opens the door and peeks into the hallway. All that can be heard is the movie and Gir’s giggling downstairs. He squeezes his towel and runs to his room. He dives in and sighs as he closes the door behind him.  
He throws his towel onto the bed and picks up his pyjama pants- black pants covered in white cartoon ghosts. As he starts to pull them on, his doorknob starts jiggling. Dib panics and falls onto his bed as Zim walks in.  
“Dib-hyuman,” Zim steps into the room and starts to ask, “do you have any food tha-” but stops when he sees Dib on his bed, trying to cover himself with blankets.  
“What are you doing?” Zim asks.  
“Nothing! What do you want?” Dib snaps as his face goes bright red.  
“Um… I was just wondering if… if you have any food that I can di-digest,” he stutters as he tries to look away from the obviously naked boy on the bed.  
“I don’t know! Probably not,” he mumbles.  
“Alright. I’ll leave you then,” he says quietly as he leaves and closes the door.  
Dib sighs and lies down on his bed. He finally pulls on his pants and just lies there, staring at the ceiling, his mind blank.  
Meanwhile in the hallway, Zim whimpers a little as he leans against the wall. Holy Tallest, Dib was naked. Like really naked. Naked, naked, naked.  
He can’t get the idea of naked Dib out of his head. He pulls on his antennae and tries to shake the thought out of his head. It’s so disturbing!  
He sighs and goes downstairs to the kitchen. He should’ve brought some food from the base. Instead he brought Gir and Minimoose. Why, he has no idea. They’re both useless.  
Well, maybe not…  
“Gir!” Zim shouts.  
A red-eyed Gir appears in front of him, “yes, my master?”  
“Zim demands you make him waffles!”  
Gir turns back to turquoise and starts cheering, “yay, waffles!”   
“And clean up any mess you make,” he snaps as he leaves for the living room. He sits on the couch with Kio, Gaz, and Minimoose.  
They’re not watching Intestines of War anymore. Now they’re watching some weird cartoon about a messed up family with a fat dad who’s always drinking and baby who wants to kill his mother. Kio seems really into, Gaz looks bored out of her mind, and Minimoose is just looking into space.  
Gaz perks up at the sound of crashing coming from the kitchen, “what’s going on in there?”  
“Nothing, Gir’s just making me waffles,” Zim shrugs.  
“He’s not going to burn my house down, is he?” she asks.  
“There’s a chance,” he shrugs again.  
He peeks over the couch at the sounds of footsteps, hoping it’s Gir with his waffles, but shrinks back when he realizes its Dib.  
Dib, who’s wearing his pyjama pants with a yellow shirt that has a sleepy face on it, comes down the stairs and sits on the couch next to Gaz. He and Zim do everything they can not to look at each other.  
Finally, Gir leaves the kitchen carrying a plate full of waffles on his head. Zim greedily grabs the plate and, after yelling at Gir to clean his mess, devours the syrup-y goodness.  
Kio tears her eyes from the TV to look at Zim’s food, “what’s that?”  
“Waffles,” he says with a mouth full of food.  
“Are they good?” she asks.  
“As good as hyuman food can be,” he shrugs.  
Suddenly the cartoon gets cut off by a breaking news report.  
“We apologize for the interruption,” the preened news reporter says, “but we would like to report an explosion on the north side of town.”  
Zim shrugs and continues to eat his waffles. Probably just more hyuman terrorism.  
“Exactly twenty minutes ago, the site behind me held a small house,” the reporter steps aside, revealing a patch of black dirt and ash, “before a small bomb was dropped and destroyed the house and everything in it.”  
Zim blinks as he glances at the TV screen. Wait a minute that spot looks familiar.  
“No one is sure where the bomb came from or if anyone was inside the house at the time,” the cameraman backs up, revealing the whole street around the site, “if anyone has any leads, please report to the police department. We will now return you to your scheduled broadcast.”  
Zim’s arms go limp and fall, sending the waffles to clatter on the ground. He stares in horror at the TV screen as it shows a round street with rectangular houses that used to surround a slim green house, but in its place is a small crater full of dirt and ash.  
Dib adjusts his glasses as he watches the TV, “isn’t that where…” he stops as he looks at the horrified look on Zim’s face.  
“Oh, no,” Kio covers her mouth her hands, “Zim, I-”  
Before she can finish, Zim is on his feet and running through the front door.  
“Damn it,” Dib snaps as he jumps up, “come on, Kio. We have to get him.”  
“Right,” Kio nods and follows Dib out the door and after Zim.  
“Zim! Stop!” Dib shouts but when Zim ignores him, he glares at Kio, “you said Tak was gonna attack in four days! It hasn’t even been three yet!”  
“I know. And I meant it. There’s no proof that Tak did this, it might’ve been one of her minions who did it,” Kio says calmly, if not rather sternly.  
“Fine, let’s just get Zim,” he huffs and shouts, “Zim!”  
Zim ignores the shouting behind him; he ignores the curious stares of strangers, barely aware that he forgot his disguise. He just focuses on running and his own thoughts.  
Not my base. Not my beautiful base. It can’t be destroyed; it’s the only thing I have left.  
He makes it to the site before Dib and Kio. He jumps the police tape and lands in the small crater where the bomb exploded.  
In the exact spot where his base used to be.  
Zim’s legs go weak and he collapses onto his knees in the ash.  
Dib and Kio finally catch up. They stop at the sight of the defeated Irken among the ash and cautiously walk up to him.  
“Zim? Are you okay?” Kio asks quietly as they step over the tape.  
“Gone. All gone,” he whimpers, “it’s all gone. I’ve lost everything.”  
“You haven’t lost everything,” Dib says, even though he knows it’s wrong.  
“Have to,” Zim argues quietly, “everything’s gone. My base is gone, my job is gone, my home is gone.”  
“Your job? Your home?” What do you mean?” Dib asks.  
“The Tallest banished me here. They told me so a year ago. They made it perfectly clear,” he cries.  
“They- oh,” he mumbles. He does know.  
“All I had left was my base. And now that’s gone too. It’s all gone. I have nothing,” he whimpers.  
“Well, fight back. Get revenge on Tak. Show her not to mess with Zim,” Dib exclaims excitedly.  
“No.”  
“No?” he mutters, “why not?”  
“I can’t. She’s beaten me. I don’t wanna fight anymore,” he whimpers as he hugs his shoulders.  
“So you’re just gonna let Tak win? After everything that happened, you’re just gonna give up?” Dib snaps angrily.  
Zim doesn’t say anything.  
Dib snarls, “fine, stay here and wallow in your pathetic self-pity! Kio and I will go back to my house and come up with a plan. Come on, Kio.”  
Kio winces at Dib’s snapping and when he starts walking away, she stands still.  
“Well?” he snaps at her.  
He horns twitch as she looks from Dib to Zim and back. Finally she makes her choice: she detaches her goggles and a small silver remote with a big red button from her belt and drops them in front of Zim.  
“If you need to find us and we’re not at the house, put on the goggles,” she instructs, “and if you need to make a quick getaway, press that button.”  
She leans down and whispers gently into his antenna, “remember, Zim, that no matter what happens, you never truly have nothing.”  
With that, Kio runs up to the impatient human and they leave the depressed Irken in the ash that was once his house.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Zim kneels in the ash and stares at the goggles and remote before him.  
You never truly have nothing. Kio’s words continue to spin around his head.  
Okay, so what do I have left? My pride… but I did break down in front of the Dib, so that’s depleting. What else? What about Gir and Minimoose? I still have them. That’s not much of an achievement, but it means I don’t have nothing. What else?  
Zim slowly begins to perk up as he considers the things he still has. I got my base's memory. That’s a good thing. What else? Well, I have Earth, at least for the moment. And Dib.  
He stops as he thinks about Earth and Dib. Yes, those are mine. And Tak wants to take them! She wants to take Earth and Dib away from Zim! Never!  
Zim snarls and stands up. He dusts the ash off his skinny jeans and picks up the goggles and remote.  
He blinks as the goggles start beeping and slip them over his head. They’re a bit small on his bulbous eyes, but he makes do.  
‘Analyze’ appears across his sight and suddenly arrows and Vort words appear all over his vision.  
Zim grunts. He doesn’t quite understand what these goggles are doing, but reading in Vortian is so annoying. He wishes they would change to English.  
Suddenly the arrows and words are replaced with ‘analyze.’ When words appear in his vision again, they’re in English.  
Looks like instructions. Zim begins to read the words in his vision. They basically say that the goggles analyze the thoughts of the wearer and attempts to do what they want. For example, Zim wanted the words to be in English so they changed to English.  
So if I think of Dib, it’ll show me his location?  
Dib’s face pops into Zim’s mind and the goggles begin analyzing. An arrow appears along with the words, ‘0.3 miles, northeast.’  
The goggles beep and the words ‘enhance. Initializing X-ray vision’ appears. Zim’s vision spins as the environment around him zooms by, as if he’s flying past it all, but he hasn’t moved an inch. Finally everything stops and the buildings in the area become transparent. The goggles focus on two figures in the middle of the road. Dib and Kio. They appear to be dodging something- lasers! But where are they coming from?  
Zim turns his head slightly to the left and notices a slim, purple ship, like Sploodge’s old ship. Whoever’s flying it is shooting at Dib and Kio.  
At Zim’s Dib.  
Zim snarls with hate and anger as he sets the goggles on his forehead. He has to get there, and fast!  
He starts to squeeze his fist, but something stops him. He lifts his hand and looks at the silver remote Kio gave him,  
And if you need to make a quick getaway, press this button.  
He lifts his ‘eyebrow’ and presses the button with his thumb. He jumps at the loud bang behind him and turns around. Sitting there is a slim, pink ship. Tak’s old ship! The remote must’ve teleported it here.  
Zim smirks as he climbs into the front. That damned Vortian always has something up her sleeve.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Kio lags behind Dib as they walk down the street. She’s aware of all the humans watching her without her disguise, but she doesn’t think about it. She’s too busy thinking about Zim. Poor Zim. His entire world just crumbled around him. She keeps looking back, hoping to see him run up the street after them. But he never does.  
Dib marches in front of Kio with an angry stride. He’s aware of all the passersby who see him walking with an alien, but he doesn’t think about it. He’s too busy thinking about Zim. Stupid Zim. He’s so weak and pathetic.  
On the surface, Dib couldn’t care less if Zim stayed broken or not. He’s sure he could beat Tak by himself. But in his core, he wishes with all his might that Zim would run up to them and agree to work with them again.  
They turn down a deserted street, which is weird. Normally these streets are full of people, but not now. Neither Dib nor Kio notice though. They’re still too busy thinking about Zim.  
Poor Zim.  
Stupid Zim.  
Kio’s horns twitch and she stops walking. She quickly looks around, searching for something though she’s not sure what.  
Dib stops when he realizes that Kio isn’t following him. He turns around and asks, “what’s wrong, Kio?”  
“I don’t know. I feel like we’re being watched,” she answers.  
“Watched? By what?”  
“I don’t know. Let’s just get back to your house,” she says as she walks over to him.  
Dib starts to nod but stops when he hears footsteps behind him. He turns around and notices a green skinned, short figure standing in a dark alley.  
“Who? Zim?” Dib says excitedly, “Zim, is that you?”  
Kio’s horns twitch dangerously as Dib takes a step towards the alley. “Dib,” she mutters as the figure reaches behind its back.  
Her horns convulse as the figure grabs onto something. “Dib, watch out!” she jumps forward and tackles Dib into the street as the mysterious Irken fires a laser at them.  
“Are you okay?” Kio asks frantically.  
“Yeah. Who is that?” Dib exclaims.  
“It’s Flobee,” she growls as she stands up in front of him. The Irken, dressed in a purple uniform and holding a purple laser gun, steps out of the shadows and smiles.  
“Flobee?” Dib questions as he sits up.  
“Why are you here, Flobee?” Kio asks.  
“I’m here to arrest the human in the name of Tallest Tak,” he says sternly.  
“Just the human? What about me?”   
“I could arrest you too, if you want. But Tallest Tak has instructed that I give you a second chance. So if you want to live, I suggest you come with me and agree to work with her again.”  
“No way, Flobee. There’s no way I’d ever work for that crazy slave driver,” she snaps.  
“Very well,” he nods then squeezes the trigger of the laser gun. Dib and Kio jump out of the way and roll across the dirt. He grabs her arm and runs down the road, tugging her behind him. Since they’re so much taller than Flobee they gain more ground than him, but he has a secret weapon.  
As they run down the street, the cement explodes near their feet. They scream and fall back as Flobee pilots his ship and fires large lasers.  
“What do we do?” Dib asks.  
“Just don’t get hit,” Kio exclaims.  
They jump around the road, doing everything they can not to get hit by Flobee’s lasers, but it won’t last. Unless a miracle happens, they’ll eventually get hit.  
Dib steps into a small hole and trips, falling onto his stomach. He coughs and sits up as Flobee flies over to him. Dib cringes as he starts to fire a laser. But just as the lasers start to fire, something hard and pink slams into Flobee’s ship, sending him flying to the left and causing the laser to fire into a building next to Dib.  
Kio grabs Dib’s arm and helps him up. He notices the big smile on her face as she stares at the new arrival. He looks at the ship and smiles himself. It’s Tak’s old ship and sitting inside it is a tall Irken with a familiar smirk planted on his face.  
Zim laughs a laugh that he hasn’t laughed for over a year as he watches Flobee try to steady his ship.   
“Zim? You’re alive?” Flobee exclaims.  
“You bet your Irken ass I’m alive,” Zim laughs, “why wouldn’t I be?”  
“Because I destroyed your base! How did you survive that explosion?”  
“Ha! Whoever Tak gets her intel from is not very good at their job. I wasn’t anywhere near my base when it exploded,” he continues to laugh.  
“Fine. Then I’ll just have to do the job right this time,” Flobee snarls as he charges Zim.  
Zim stops laughing and rolls his eyes at the smaller Irken. He pulls on the joystick and the ship practically jumps over Flobee’s ship.  
Zim starts laughing again as Flobee makes another attempt to ram him, “forget it, Flobee. This ship is much more efficient than that eyesore you’re flying. You could never match my speed.”  
Flobee snarls and starts firing lasers, but Zim dodges them with ease. He flies straight into the sky and Flobee chases him.   
Kio blinks as she watches Zim fly, “he seems to be having way too much fun.”  
“That’s Tak’s ship right?” Dib asks, “you finished fixing it?”  
“Not exactly. Actually, you fixed it. The repairs you made as a child were enough to make it work. I just made it more efficient and also added a teleportation feature,” she explains.  
“I see,” he nods as he watches the two Irkens fight in the sky.  
Zim continues to laugh as he dodges Flobee’s attack, “this is getting sad, Flobee. Perhaps I should end this.”  
“Oh, yeah? What are you gonna do?” Flobee snaps.  
Zim smirks as he pulls the joystick, causing him to turn around so he’s facing Flobee upside down. He taps the control panel and a large laser beam blasts from the bottom of the ship and into one of Flobee’s engines.  
Flobee screams as he plummets to the ground. He presses the ‘emergency release’ button and shoots out of the cockpit. A parachute shoots out of his PAK and stops him just before he hits the ground.  
Meanwhile, Zim lands his ship and walks up to the falling Irken.  
Flobee lands on the cement and tries to run away, but Zim grabs him by the antennae and slams him into a nearby wall before he can.  
“Alright, you’re gonna answer some questions for me,” Zim hisses at the small, flailing Irken, “first, I have reason to believe that Tak wants revenge on me. If that’s true, then why is she sending weaklings like you after me?”  
Flobee bites his tongue and forces himself not to talk or scream.  
Zim squints and squeezes his antenna.  
“Ah! Alright, alright, stop! I’ll talk!” Flobee cries as a horrible shock travels down his spine, “Tallest Tak wants to test your skills. She sends us to fight you and see if you’ve gotten stronger.”  
“But Zim’s already killed two of you,” Dib points out as he and Kio walk up to them, “why do you keep coming back?”  
“Tak sent Sploodge, Yuli, and me here in advance. We landed on different parts of the planet and had to look for Zim. We were not to know about the others,” he explains as he rubs his head, “I had no idea Sploodge and Yuli were killed.”  
“So Tak knew there was a chance they could be killed,” Kio states, “she didn’t want you to know about each other because you might not have tried to attack Zim if you know he killed the others.”  
“One more question,” Zim says as he lessens his grip on Flobee’s antennae, but just a little, “why are you all working for Tak?”  
“We were asked to…” he grunts.  
“By who?” Zim asks.  
“By the… the Tallest, Red and Purple,” he mumbles.  
Zim gasps in shock, “Tallest Red and Purple?”  
His grip lessens just enough for Flobee to pull his antennae out. He falls onto his feet and runs for his ship.  
“Hey!” Zim shouts and runs after him. He picks him up by his antennae and holds him at eye level, “I’m not done with you yet. Here’s what you’re gonna do: you’re gonna do back to Tak and tell her you beat me to a knock out. Understand? And if you don’t, I’ll find you, and kill you sluh-oooh-ly. Got it?”  
Flobee nods.  
“And one more thing,” he whispers dangerously into his antenna, “if you ever try to kill my Dib again, I’ll make you my new play thing. And trust me when I tell you I’m very rough with my toys.”  
Flobee shudders and nods again. Zim lets him go and watches as he runs for the ship and clumsily flies away.  
“What are you thinking, Zim?” Dib asks.  
“Nothing, really. I just wanna know Tak’s reaction,” he shrugs then turns around and smiles, “now let’s go back to your house.”  
“Really?” he exclaims.  
“Of course. It’s my new base, remember?” he smirks and nods at his new ship, “we can fly there.”  
Dib and Kio smile as they climb into the ship next to Zim. It’s a tight fit, but they don’t mind.  
Dib smiles as he watches Zim tap the control panel and, against all better judgement, leans in and hugs him.  
“Thanks for coming back,” he whispers.  
Zim completely freezes as Dib hugs him. At his voice, he stiffens and mutters, “uh, yeah. Right.”  
Dib smiles and lets him go. Kio watches the display with curiosity before she starts laughing.  
“What are you laughing about?” Dib asks.  
“Oh, nothing,” she giggles.  
Dib smiles then starts laughing with her. Zim rolls his eyes as he flies the ship but smiles nonetheless.  
One thought travels through the Irken’s head: I’m happy.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

“This is a bad idea,” Dib comments as he follows Kio and Gaz up the stairs.  
“I agree, but we don’t have a choice. If we want to remain inconspicuous then we have to go to Skool,” Kio says sternly as she follows Gaz into her bedroom.  
“There! That ‘we’ part. That’s the part I don’t like,” he growls.  
“I understand, Dib, but we have to remain as close together as possible. And if that means I have to enroll in an Earth Skool, then so be it,” she shrugs then smiles, “I’m kind of excited.”  
“Here,” Gaz says as she hands Kio a black outfit.  
“Thank you,” she smiles as she turns on her disguise.  
“I still think this is a bad idea,” Dib sighs.  
“No one cares, Dib. Now get out,” Gaz shouts as she slams the door, leaving Dib in the hallway.  
Dib sighs and leans against the wall, his hands in his sweater pockets. He hates this idea, it’s a bad idea. Couldn’t she have come up with a less annoying plan?  
Dib perks up as his bedroom door opens and Zim walks out, rubbing his tired pink eyes.  
“Morning, Zim,” Dib smiles.  
“Hi,” he yawns, “what’s going on?”  
“Oh, well Kio came up with a plan for today,” he says.  
“What is it?” he asks.  
“She wants to go to Skool with us,” he scowls.  
“Why?” Zim scoffs.  
“She says to remain inconspicuous we should go, which makes sense. But she also says that we have to stay as close to each other as possible, so she wants to go with us,” Dib explains.  
“I see. And you’re against this,” he states as he grabs his wig, contacts, and a mirror from his PAK.  
“Obviously.”  
“Why?”  
“Because, I’m worried she won’t fit in,” he admits.  
“Of course she won’t. She’s Vortian. But why would you care?” Zim asks.  
“Look, you and I know better than anybody how cruel those people can be. I just don’t want her to be picked on,” he shrugs.  
“Oh, please! That Vortian worked for the Tallest, escaped the Irken Bounty Hunters, then worked for Tak. I think she can handle a day of High Skool,” he scoffs as he plays with his wig, “is my wig straight?”  
Dib nods then sighs, “she’s with Gaz right now. Gaz was convinced that the dress Kio wore in her human disguise was stupid, so she gave her some better clothes.”  
Zim just grunts as he puts in his contacts. He hates these damned things.  
The bedroom door opens and Gaz and Kio walk out. Kio is wearing a long black skirt, that covers her hocks perfectly, a black t-shirt with a ‘Nine Inch Heels’ logo on the front, and large black boots. Even her fake hair is done so it’s up in a tight ponytail.  
“How do I look?” Kio asks.  
“Like a hyuman,” Zim shrugs.  
“Hold on, if your disguise is a hologram, how can you do your hair?” Dib asks.  
“Vortian holograms are much more intricate than human holograms,” she shrugs.  
“Alright, let’s just go. I wanna get this day over with,” Zim growls.  
“Okay, let’s go then,” Dib nods and the four of them trot down the stairs.  
Once they hit the main floor, Zim yells, “Gir!”  
A red eyed Gir lands in front of him, “yes, my master.”  
“Watch the house while we’re gone. Do not let anyone in,” he demands.  
“Yes, sir,” the robot salutes then sits on the couch and starts watching TV.  
Dib sighs then shrugs, “fortunately, we have an actual house defense system.”  
Dib locks the door and the four of them walk down the street together.  
“So, what should I be careful of?” Kio asks.  
“Well, bullies mostly,” Dib says.  
“Also, don’t be seen around these two. It’ll ruin your rep for life,” Gaz says.  
“Oh, and being seen around you won’t?” Zim snaps then ducks behind Dib when Gaz glares at him.  
“What are bullies?” Kio asks.  
“Idiots who are too stupid to realize that I’m better than them and they always beat me up because of it,” Zim snaps.  
“I see. And do they only beat you up?” she asks.  
“No, they beat up lots of other people too,” Dib answers.  
“They uh haven’t beaten you up, have they?” Zim asks.  
“No, I usually get away before they can hit me,” Dib says then asks, “why?”  
“Uh, no reason,” he says quickly.  
“Will they try to beat me up?” Kio asks.  
“Probably, because you’re the new kid,” Zim nods.  
“I see,” she mumbles.  
“Don’t worry about it. If you keep your head down then you’ll be fine,” Dib says.   
“Oh, I’m not worried. I’m not worried at all. I find it all very fascinating,” she smiles.  
“Oh, well, good then,” he smiles.  
“So, whose class are you going to be in?” Zim asks.  
“Class?” Kio questions.  
“Yeah. Hyumans have different classes in their Skools,” he explains.  
“She should come to our class. I don’t think the teacher will mind,” Dib says.  
“Fine. Let’s hurry, we’re gonna be late,” he warns.  
“Actually,” Gaz speaks up, “I want Kio to be in my class.”  
Dib and Zim stop walking and look back at her, flabbergasted.  
“What? Got a problem?” she growls dangerously.  
“No! Nope! None at all!” they say quickly then start walking again like nothing happened.  
Kio watches the display then smiles at Gaz as they start walking again.  
Finally they make it to Skool. They walk through the front door and head to their classes, Gaz leading Kio to her class.  
Zim and Dib walk to their class together, earning some strange glances from the other students. Everyone keeps expecting them to break into a fight, but they don’t. They just walk quietly.  
“Hey, lizard boy.” Zim snarls at the familiar voice and turns around to Torque Smacky.  
Torque and his gang smirk as they walk up to Zim, “we need money for lunch,” Torque says with fake sadness.  
“Lunch is free,” Zim hisses.  
“I don’t like that tone,” he growls as he bends down to glare him in the face.  
“Whoa, Torque,” Dib steps between the two, a nervous smile on his face, “you can’t fight here. Besides, Zim hasn’t done anything yet.”  
“Out of my way, freak,” Torque growls as he picks Dib up by the front of his shirt, “or do you wanna get pummelled too?”  
Zim snarls as Torque threatens Dib. Nobody hurts Zim’s Dib but Zim!  
Torque cracks his knuckles but before he can hit the flailing boy in his hand, Zim drives his fist into the bully’s stomach. He drops Dib and stumbles backwards, clutching his stomach.  
Dib lands on his feet but nearly falls back. Zim steadies him with one hand as he marches over to the hurting Torque, aiming to hit him again. He stops when he notices Torque’s friends starting to surround him.  
Zim scoffs and grabs Dib’s hand, tugging him down the hall. The run away from the group of bullies, Zim running with confidence and Dib trying not to fall down. They dive into the classroom and lock the door, ducking under the window so nobody will see them.  
The bullies run by and they sigh with relief. Dib rubs his chest as he looks around. Nobody’s here and the lights are off, so they should be able to hide for a few minutes.  
Dib sighs again and glances at Zim. “Thanks for protecting me,” he mumbles.  
Zim gulps then says, “yeah, well, you protected me first. I was just returning the favour.”  
Dib gathers all the courage he has and asks, “why have you been protecting me lately?”  
“What do you mean?” Zim asks flatly.  
“I mean, you protected me from Yuli, from Flobee, and just now from Torque. Why?”  
Zim gulps again. He takes a deep breath and pulls off the glove on his right hand, the one that was burned. He begins to unwrap the bandage, revealing a dark green and pink scar. He stares at it for a second before looking at Dib, a determined look on his face.  
“What?” Dib asks.  
“I’m going to do something, but you cannot run away or ask me about it later, understand?” Zim asks sternly.  
Dib blinks then nods with uncertainty.  
Zim takes a deep breath and leans forward. He wraps his arms around his shoulders and hugs him tight and close. He rests his chin on Dib’s shoulder and closes his eyes.  
Dib goes completely rigid at the hug. But, like he promised, he doesn’t try to run away. He just lets Zim hold him.  
Zim opens his eyes to a tiny slit and whispers, “my Dib,” into the hyuman’s ear.  
Dib freezes at the whisper and doesn’t move as Zim lets him go. He watches as the disguised alien sits at his desk like nothing happened. Dib, however, doesn’t move. He just kneels on the floor and stares into space.  
The bell rings. Dib blinks and stands up, unlocking the door before sitting at his own desk. Soon students start filing in and class starts. Not once during the lesson do Zim or Dib look at each other, not even a glance.  
This somewhat peaceful lull is broken when a random student runs into the classroom shouting, “hey! A junior with purple hair is fighting some weird green girl!”  
Dib blinks as a puzzle starts forming in his head. Junior with purple hair? Fighting? Gaz. A weird green girl? Could it be an Irken?  
Dib sighs, “oh no.”


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Kio follows Gaz like a little dog as she leads her to their classroom. Lots of passersby glance at the pair, but Gaz couldn’t care less about what they think.  
“So, Gaz, if you don’t mind me asking, why did you want me in your class?” Kio asks.  
“Because, if somebody tries to attack you those two idiots could never protect you,” Gaz growls.  
“I see. So then you’re going to protect me?”  
“You could put it like that.”  
“Excellent,” she smiles then examines the people staring at them, “so why are all these people staring at us?”  
“They’re just staring at me. Most of these people don’t like me,” Gaz shrugs.  
Kio blinks then smiles and catches up to her, “well, I like you.”  
“You do?” she lifts and eyebrow.  
“Sure. You’re fun, and helpful, and your idiosyncrasies are quite fascinating,” she nods.  
Gaz stares at her for a minute before rolling her eyes and scoffing. Kio smiles and continues following her.  
“Oh! Dib told me that you helped beat Tak. Is that true?” she asks.  
“I guess. I mean I was there,” Gaz shrugs.  
“Are you gonna help this time?”  
“I don’t know. Maybe if I have nothing else to do.”  
“That’s an apathetic way of thinking,” Kio comments.  
“I guess,” Gaz yawns and then points at a nearby room, “anyway that’s our classroom.”  
“Excellent,” Kio chirps and trots into the room, “so what kind of things do humans learn about?”  
“Nothing interesting. It’s all boring,” Gaz scoffs as she sits at her desk.  
“Nonsense,” she laughs as she sits in the desk next to her, “anything can be interesting if you look at it right.”  
Gaz looks at her for a second then rolls her eyes, “you’re weird.”  
Kio laughs and leans back in her chair. She stares at the ceiling, a content smile on her face. Is this the emotion humans call ‘happy’? It’s nice.  
She sits up when the bell starts ringing and students start walking in. A couple people look at her but most don’t care.  
Kio watches with great interest as the students instantly sit still as the teacher walk in. She slams a note onto her desk and glares at the students, looking for the two new ones.  
“Class, I’d like introduce the two new hunks of meat the school board calls students,” Ms. Bitters hisses, “Kio and Tennee.”  
Tennee? Kio blinks and looks around for the other new student. She spots her in the back of the room: a rather short girl with pale skin, blue eyes, and short black hair who’s wearing a purple shirt with black pants, boots, and gloves.  
Kio feels her horns twitch as the girl catches her eye. They both glare daggers at each other before Kio turns around and stares at the board.  
Gaz leans in and whispers, “do you know her?”  
“I hope not,” Kio responds, “if I do then it means trouble.”  
“Yeah? Well trouble is afraid of me,” she hisses and leans back. She reaches into her jeans pocket and smiles as her fingers wrap around a slim, metal object.  
Kio sighs and stares at the ceiling. She wonders what Zim and Dib are doing. She doesn’t like being away from them for too long. Bad things seem to happen when they’re apart.  
Her thoughts are interrupted by a paper ball hitting the back of her head. She picks it up and straightens it out. Written on it in Irken lettering is the word ‘traitor’.  
Kio hisses at the note and rips it up. She knows exactly who threw it but she can’t do anything rash. As a scientist, she must watch and wait.  
Throughout the course of the class, a barrage of paper balls hits the back of Kio’s head, but she ignores them. This is nothing. She will not give her the satisfaction. She will not make the first move.  
Gaz notices the paper balls and with every one that hits Kio, her temper grows more and more short. She’s not sure what’s pissing her off more, the paper balls and the bitch who’s throwing them or Kio and how she’s not showing any reaction. Either way it won’t be long before her fuse blows and she snaps.  
Kio’s horns twitch violently. A threat! She dodges to the left and ends up falling onto the floor as a pair of scissors lands on her desk.   
Gaz watches as Kio falls onto the floor and scissors slam onto the desk. Someone tried to throw scissors at Kio! If she didn’t fall, they would’ve stabbed or cut her.  
Gaz snarls and glares at the laughing new girl. Who the hell does she think she is?  
Kio rubs her leg and stands up next to Gaz’s desk. She stares at the scissors then glares at the new girl. Does this count as the first move? Can Kio attack her now?  
She reaches to her utility belt and detaches a strange gun-like device. All the kids gasp as she points it at Tennee. She pulls the trigger but instead of a bullet or laser firing out, it shines a ray of light, like a strong flashlight.   
Kio shines the light into Tennee’s face and smirks as it peeks through her human disguise revealing green skin.  
“An alien?” Gaz exclaims.  
“An Irken, actually. Invader Tenn,” Kio nods.  
“You’re still as smart as ever, Kiologi. But that doesn’t mean you’ll win,” Tenn declares as she shuts off her holographic device.  
“Are you here to fight Zim?” Kio snaps as she shuts off her disguise.  
“Nope. Actually, I’m here to fight you,” she smirks.  
“Why me?” she asks.  
“Tallest Tak has ordered your arrest and sent me to collect you, dead or alive,” she explains.  
“Tak, eh?” Gaz hisses as she steps in front of Kio, “I never liked that alien bitch.”  
“Who the Tallest are you?” Tenn snaps.  
“Gaz. You could call me Kio’s bodyguard,” she growls.  
“Ha! A lower life form like you could never beat me,” Tenn laughs.  
“Since you’re new to Earth, I’ll teach you an important lesson,” she snarls as she pulls her pocket knife out of her jeans, “don’t mess with the Membranes.”  
“So you want a fight? Fine,” Tenn growls then charges Gaz.  
Gaz dodges the female Irken by jumping onto a random desk. Tenn slides to a stop and spins around to charge her again but Gaz slams her fist into her stomach before she can. Afterwards, she picks her up by her curled antennae and throws her into the hallway. Kio follows her new bodyguard out of the classroom.  
Ms. Bitters and her students watch the fight with unblinking eyes. They stare at the door after the girls leave then Ms. Bitters says, “alright, turn to page 108,” and they forget about it.  
Tenn rubs her antennae as she stands up in the hallway and looks around for the earthling. She underestimated the alien, a mistake she won’t make again.  
Her antennae perk up and she just barely dodges Gaz’s knife. She jumps to her feet and glares at the purple haired human.  
Gaz scoffs as she misses then charges again, swinging her knife in a way that seems crazy, but every swing has meaning.  
Tenn just barely dodges the attacks. Human fighting style is so unorthodox; she can’t read her movements and she can’t find a chance to attack.  
She scoffs. Fine, if she can’t attack then she’ll have to regroup.  
Four metal spider legs come out of her PAK and pick her up. Gaz stops swinging and watches the Irken stretch up to the ceiling and clamber into the air vents.   
“Is it over?” she asks.  
“No,” Kio answers, “Irkens never run from a fight. She’s probably trying to gain the upper hand by attacking from places we can’t get to.”  
“So what do we do?”  
“Just stay on your toes,” she replies then looks at her clothes. She pulls off her skirt and throws it to the floor. Underneath she’s wearing her shorts and leg warmers.  
Her horns twitch. She spins around and notices someone running down the hallway. It’s Dib!  
She starts to smile but then her horns twitch again. She waves her hands at the human and shouts, “no, Dib! Stop! Don’t come down here!”  
Either he doesn’t notice Kio or doesn’t understand what she’s getting at because he keeps running.  
Dib slows down as he comes closer to Kio. Her horns twitch again and she looks at the ceiling. She reaches for her goggles but then remembers they’re still with Zim. Fook!  
Her horns twitch once more and she covers her face as a bunch of lasers fire down from the ceiling.   
The barrage stops. She uncovers her face and looks, but there’s too much smoke and dust. She can’t see anything. Where is he? Where is he?  
She shouts hopelessly, “Dib!”


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Dib’s sneakers squeak as he jumps out of his desk and runs out of the classroom. Could Gaz be fighting an Irken? He hopes not. He hopes it’s just one of her daily fights. Please let that be the case.  
He turns down the junior hallway and notices someone standing on the other end. It’s Kio! But she’s not wearing her disguise. Did something happen?  
She turns around and notices him. She starts waving her hands and shouting something but he doesn’t stop running.   
He slows down as he gets closer to her. He notices Gaz standing behind her with her knife. Something has happened.  
Something creaks above him. He starts to look up as a barrage of lasers fire from the ceiling. He screams and covers his head, too startled to run away.  
Something long and thin wraps around his waist. An arm! He starts to struggle but stops when a familiar voice whispers, “don’t move,” into his ear.  
Zim wraps his arms around Dib’s chest and holds him close as his spider legs create a shield, protecting them from the lasers.  
The barrage finally finishes. Zim lowers the shield and lets Dib go.  
Dib sits on the floor in front of Zim and waits for the smoke to clear. He starts to lean back but perks right up when he hears someone shout his name.  
“Kio?’ he shouts in the general direction of the voice.  
Kio pushes through the smoke and smiles when he sees Dib. She slides across the floor on her knees and wraps her arms around his shoulders, “thank Vort you’re alright.”  
Dib stiffens as she hugs him and just barely manages to say, “uh, yeah.”  
Meanwhile, just behind them, Zim hisses with jealousy at the pair. That damned Vortian, holding Zim’s Dib? That… that… stupid… scientist… thing!  
Dib pushes Kio off of him and asks, “Kio, what’s going on?”  
“Tenn is attacking and Gaz is fighting her,” she then exclaims, “oh no, Gaz! I forgot all about her!”  
She starts to stand up but a hand smacks the back of her head before she can.  
“You know,” Gaz says as she stands over the Vortian, “for someone who claims to be a scientist, you can be pretty stupid.”  
Kio rubs the back of her head as she laughs at Gaz’s statement and stands up.  
“Tenn? Invader Tenn? What’s she doing here?” Zim asks.  
“She’s here to arrest me because I betrayed Tak,” Kio says.  
“So you were fighting an Irken,” Dib states.  
“Where is she?” Zim snarls.  
“In the ceiling,” Kio mutters and looks up.  
Zim growls as his spider legs start shooting lasers into the ceiling. He smirks when he hears a shriek and a crash.  
Tenn crashes from the vent and onto the floor, squeezing her recently burnt arm. She ignores the pain and jumps to her feet.  
“Zim,” she hisses, the venom practically dripping from her words, “you’ve grown.”  
“Yes, fantastic isn’t it?” he smirks as he grabs his laser gun and Kio’s goggles from his PAK. He pulls the goggles over his eyes and charges the gun.  
Tenn scoffs and begins firing lasers from her spider legs before Zim gets a chance to fire his gun. He easily dodges the lasers since the goggles tell him exactly where they’ll land.  
Gaz squeezes her knife and charges Tenn. She swings for her small, green head. Tenn snarls and jumps out of the way. She aims her lasers at her and fires. Gaz dodges them but one hits her hand, destroying her knife in the process.  
Gaz screams and cradles her burnt hand to her chest. She falls to her knees as the pain starts resonating across her body.  
“Gaz!” Dib and Kio exclaim.  
Zim scoffs and starts firing his gun at Tenn. She narrowly dodges the lasers while at the same time running for Zim. Her spider legs pick her up and throw her at him.   
‘Dodge!’ constantly appears in Zim’s line of sight as Tenn throws herself at him. His books squeak and he jumps out of the way, but just a few seconds too late.  
Tenn swings one of her spider legs and it slices through Zim’s left boot, penetrating his skin. He screams and hits the ground, squeezing his damaged leg as pink blood starts pouring from the gash.  
“Zim!” Dib exclaims. He watches helplessly as Tenn towers over him, getting ready to stab him with her legs.  
What can I do? Kio’s helping Gaz, so I have to help Zim. But… what can I do?  
Dib looks at Zim’s right arm, the one with the burn. He can’t see it, but he knows it’s there.  
Zim protected me too many times. It’s my turn to protect him.  
His sneakers squeak as he runs across the floor. He cracks his knuckles, pulls back his arm, and slams his fist into Tenn’s face, sending the female Irken into the wall behind her.  
Tenn coughs as her spider legs hold her up. She rubs her face and glares at Dib between her fingers.  
He smirks, “that was for burning my sister. And this,” he slams his fist into her stomach then grabs her antennae and throws her into the floor, “was for cutting my Zim.”  
Zim watches the display from the floor with wide eyes. He gasps at Dib’s word, a dark green blush spreading across his face, “your Zim?”  
Gaz and Kio watch from a spot in the middle of the hallway. Kio has wrapped a bandage she got from a bag on her belt around Gaz’s hand and is now trying to think of a way to help Dib.  
Gaz smirks, “he’s finally stepped up, huh? Kio, help Zim. I’ll help Dib.”  
“Huh? Oh, okay,” Kio nods and runs over to Zim while Gaz walks over to Dib and Tenn.  
Tenn coughs as she forces herself up. She will not allow herself to be beaten by this large headed monkey.  
She gets onto her knees and starts to stand up but Gaz slams her leg into her stomach before she can. Tenn gasps as Gaz’s kick sends her backwards and right into Dib’s raised foot. She falls to the ground in a green heap, coughing and trying to catch her breath.  
“I told you,” Gaz purrs in an evil voice as she picks up the beaten Irken by her antennae, “don’t mess with the Membranes.”  
Tenn tries to sneer but it just looks like a tired frown before she passes out.  
“That was amazing!” Kio squeals as she and Zim walk over to them. Zim has a bandage wrapped around his bootless foot and is, to his dismay, leaning on Kio to move around.  
“So, what now?” Dib asks.  
“We should try to get some answers out of her,” Zim says.  
“Through torture?” Kio asks.  
“That’s my go-to job,” he smirks.  
“I agree. But we won’t do it,” Gaz says she holds the unconscious Irken under her arm.  
“Then who will?” Zim asks.  
“I uh… know a guy who will do it for like twenty bucks,” she shrugs.  
“I could do it for free,” he argues.  
“Maybe, but this guy will get information out of her faster than any of us ever could,” she says.  
“But-”  
“Look! We’re taking her to my guy, got it?” she snaps.  
Zim shivers and nods.  
“Good. Let’s go,” she growls and walks to the front door.  
Zim sticks his tongue out at her back but hobbles to the front door with Kio’s help. He blushes as Dib grabs his other arm and wraps it around his neck.  
“So, who’s this guy Gaz knows?” Kio asks as they leave the school and walk down the steps.  
“I don’t know. I try to stay away from Gaz’s personal life. I’m scared of what I’ll learn,” Dib laughs then yells, “hey, Gaz. Where is this guy?”  
Gaz turns around and says, “on the other side of town.”  
“That’s like five miles. We can’t walk there,” he complains.  
“We can fly our ship,” Kio suggests.  
“Fine,” Gaz groans, “is it in the garage?”  
“Yes,” Zim nods.  
“Fine, let’s get it,” she nods and leads the way back to the garage.  
“Will we all fit?” Dib asks.  
“It may be a tight squeeze, but we should all fit,” Kio nods.   
After they make it to the garage, Kio and Dib set Zim on a chair and Kio goes to prep the ship while Dib stays with Zim. Gaz follows Kio to the ship.  
Zim opens his PAK and pulls out a boot. He slips it gently over his bandaged foot.  
“You carry extra boots with you?” Dib asks.  
“You never know when you may need them,” Zim states as he pulls Kio’s goggles off his forehead. “Kio, here,” he says as he tosses them over to her.  
He leans back on the chair and looks at Dib, “Dib, did you mean it when you said ‘my Zim’?”  
Dib blinks, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
“When you were fighting Tenn and you said ‘and this is for cutting my Zim’,” he says.  
“You’re crazy, Space Boy. I didn’t say anything like that,” he maintains.  
Zim blinks then sighs, “whatever.”  
Dib stares at the alien beside him then smiles as he pulls off his black wig.  
“What are you doing?” Zim snaps.  
“Nothing. I just think you look better without your disguise,” Dib shrugs as he fiddles with the wig.  
Zim blushes then laughs as he pulls off his contacts, “well, of course you do. Zim is amazing after all.”  
Dib nods, “sure, Zim.”  
“Hey, love birds! Are you coming?” Gaz snaps.  
“Love birds?” Dib growls as he helps Zim up and they climb into the ship.  
Kio, happy to be wearing her goggles again, starts the ship and flies out of the garage and into the air.  
“Okay, just fly straight for now, Kio,” Gaz says. Kio nods and flies straight.  
Dib smiles as he looks out the window. He could never get tired of this view. Of course, it’d be better if he was in space, but this is fine too.  
They fly silently over the city for a few minutes until Gaz sits up and says, “turn left, I think.”  
Kio nods and turns left. As they fly, Dib grows more and more worried. They’re flying to the bad part of town, where all those murders occurred. Who is this guy?  
“Land here. We can walk the rest of the way,” Gaz commands as she points at an empty lot.  
After Kio lands the ship, the four of them jump out and follow Gaz down the street. The more they walk, the more uneasy Dib feels.  
“Okay, Gaz. Who is this guy?” he asks sternly.  
“Alright. Remember about two years ago when Dad’s psychiatrist friend came over for dinner and she brought one of her patients?” she asks.  
“A little. He was strange looking but quiet and polite,” he nods.  
“Well, a few days later, I ran into him on the street. He was walking with some weird statue or something under his arm. He gave me his address and told me if I ever needed something to drop by.”  
“I see. So how do you know he’ll be able to torture Tenn?” he asks.  
“Because he’s that rumored serial killer,” she says plainly.  
“What?” he skids to a stop, “we’re going to a serial killer’s house?”  
“Relax,” Gaz sighs, “he won’t kill us. He only kills bad people.”  
“Oh, and that makes it better,” he says sarcastically.  
Zim squeezes Dib’s shoulder and whispers, “don’t worry. Zim will protect you.”  
Dib looks down at Zim’s big, pink eyes and sighs.Why does that make me feel better?   
He nods and walks beside Zim. They follow Gaz down the street to a rundown house with boarded windows and the number 777 next to the door. On the lawn is a sign that says, ‘Stay Off. It’s rude to walk on the dead.’  
“Alright, listen up,” Gaz turns around and faces Dib, Zim, and Kio, “he only kills people he considers to be assholes. So be nice to him. This means you, Zim,” she points at him, “keep your stupid mouth shut.”  
Zim growls but doesn’t say anything. Gaz spins on her heel and walks up to the door. Dib gulps and follows her, Zim, and Kio up the walk.  
Gaz knocks on the old door. There’s a bit of rustling before a tall, incredibly thin guy with a mess of black hair and dark eyes answers.  
“Yes?” he asks quietly.  
“Hi,” Gaz says plainly, “I don’t know if you remember us but-”  
“I remember you. You’re Gaz and Dib Membrane,” he says.  
“Oh, good. Well, we need your help with something,” she says.  
“I see. Well, come in then,” he sighs and holds open the door. The four of them walk in. The living room is very plain and dark, with a couch, a TV with actual bunny ears on top, and a dresser with the picture of a bunny head and a statue of Bub’s Burger Boy on top.  
“Um… forgive me, but I don’t remember you name,” Dib admits nervously as he walks into the room.  
“No problem. I didn’t make much of an impression when we had dinner,” the man shrugs then turns around and smiles the creepiest of all smiles, “I’m Johnny, but you can call me Nny.”


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Dib shivers at Nny’s smiles but forces himself not to look away. He will not be psyched out by this serial killer wannabe.  
“So, what is it you need me to do?” Nny asks.  
“Oh, right. We were wondering if you could like interrogate this… person for us,” Gaz says as she presents the unconscious Irken to him.  
Nny bends down and looks at the strange creature, “what is it?”  
“An Irken,” Zim says like it’s the most obvious thing in the universe.  
Nny glares at him.  
“Uh, it’s an alien,” Dib says quickly, “we’re kind of fighting her boss but we need some answers. Gaz said you could help us.”  
“Fine,” he shrugs, “I’ll interrogate her. But I’ll need the money up front.”  
Gaz nods and hands him twenty dollars.  
“Thanks,” he says as he sticks it in his pocket, “so what should I ask her?  
“Hm, that’s a really good question,” Dib muses.  
“It really depends on what answers she gives,” Kio says as she steps forward, “if you like, I could ask the questions while you interrogate.”  
Nny shrugs as he examines her, “so, what are you?”  
“I’m a Vortian scientist. My name’s Kio,” she smiles as she bows to him.  
“Well, Kio, you’re welcome to watch if you can stomach it,” he says as he grabs Tenn from Gaz.  
“I’ll be fine,” she smiles.  
“Alright, come on then,” he nods to a nearby doorway and motions for the kids to follow him.  
“So what’re this alien’s weak points?” Nny asks.  
“Her antennae and her PAK,” Dib answers instinctively.  
Nny laughs lightly and asks, “are you like an expert?”  
“I guess you could say that,” he smiles.  
“Forgive me if I sound like I’m intruding, but I’m just curious. You said you’re fighting this alien’s leader, right? Then what’s the deal with that green jerk in the back?” Nny asks.  
“Green jerk?” Zim exclaims, “listen, you stupid-” he starts to shout but gets cut off by Dib covering his mouth with his hand.  
“Um,” Kio steps in front of Nny, a nervous smile on her face, “Zim is on our side. He and that leader are like mortal enemies.”  
Nny grunts in reply as he watches Dib and Gaz try to shut Zim up. He doesn’t like that green alien bug thing.  
“Anyway,” he sighs and opens a nearby door. The kids jump back as a naked, tied up man covered in his own blood screams, “help me!” in the room.  
Nny quickly slams the door shut and laughs, “oops, not vacant.”  
As he continues down the creepy hallway, he can’t help but smirk at how scared the kids look, especially the alien boy.  
Zim notices the lanky human smirking at him. All of his fear is washed away and replaced with his infinite and somewhat dangerous pride as he glares at the human psycho.  
The glare doesn’t bother Nny at all. He just laughs and continues to look for an empty room. If he wanted to, he could torture the little alien boy until his pride broke to pieces, but he’s in a good mood so he’ll let him live. For now…  
Nny stops in front of a door and puts his ear to it. He peeks inside and smiles, “okay, this is good.”  
He holds Tenn in front of him and asks, “so how can I wake her up?”  
“I don’t know. We did go a little crazy on her,” Dib smiles proudly.  
Nny smirks as he notices Tenn start to wake up. “Hello,” he waves happily at the confused Irken.  
“What’s going on?” she asks tiredly.  
“You’re going to give me some answers,” Kio tells her.  
As Tenn becomes more aware of her surroundings, her Irken pride begins to once again take over, “oh, yeah? What if I don’t?”  
“That’s why I’m here,” Nny smirks and throws her hard into the room.  
He turns around and addresses the kids, “make yourselves at home while you wait. You can watch TV or see if there’s anything fresh in my fridge. Oh, and if Reverend Meat starts talking to you then just smash his head into the wall. That usually shuts him up.”  
“Who’s Reverend Meat?” Dib asks.  
“He’s my little porcelain friend on the dresser. Don’t worry about breaking him; he always comes back,” he smiles cheerfully as he leads Kio into the room, “well, we’ll be right back.”  
Kio waves at them as she walks into the room and the door closes.  
Dib blinks, “do you think Kio will be okay with him?”  
“I think so. Like I said, Johnny only hurts people he considers assholes,” Gaz says then punches Zim’s shoulder, “that’s why I told you to keep your stupid mouth shut.”  
“I couldn’t help it,” Zim snaps as he rubs his shoulder, “I don’t like that psycho.”  
“Whatever. Let’s just get out of this creepy hallway,” Dib says as he leads the way back to the living room.  
Zim and Gaz sit on the old couch and turn on the TV while Dib examines the Bub’s Burger boy statue on the dresser.  
“When he said ‘Reverend Meat’ was he talking about this? Did he mean this would talk to us?” Dib asks.  
“Who cares? He’s nuts,” Zim scoffs.  
“Yeah, I guess,” Dib smiles as he sits on the couch.  
“Nny’s not crazy.”  
Zim, Dib, and even Gaz jump at the voice. They look at the front door and standing there is a boy about their age with short black hair and brown eyes. In one hand he’s holding a grocery bag and in the other he has a worn out teddy bear.  
“Who are you?” Dib asks nervously.  
“Squee,” he says plainly, “you?”  
“Uh, I’m Dib. That’s Gaz and this is Zim,” he says.  
“I see,” he mutters as he walks in, “why are you here?”  
“We needed Johnny’s help for something,” Gaz says then asks, “what are you doing here?”  
“I live here,” he shrugs.  
“I didn’t know Johnny had a kid,” she comments.  
“I’m not his actual kid. He took me in about two years ago, after I escaped from the nut house,” he explains as he walks to the kitchen.  
Dib, Zim, and Gaz jump at a loud, shrill scream and an electrical surge in the TV and weak light, followed by an evil sounding laugh.  
“Man,” Squee sighs, “he’s gonna cause another power outage.”  
“What’s he doing?” Dib asks.  
“Probably electrocuting someone,” he shrugs as he puts down the grocery bag. He blinks and lifts his teddy bear in front of his face, “what’d you say, Shmee? ...oh, I see.”  
He puts Shmee under his arm and looks at Dib and the others, “Shmee says you’re in danger.”  
“Who’s Shmee?” Dib asks.  
“My friend here,” he says as he presents Shmee to Dib, “he says that the tall ones will have you and you won’t be able to escape.”  
“The tall ones?” Zim questions.  
“He says that they’ll kill you if they get the chance. You can’t let them kill you. If they succeed, the Earth will be destroyed,” he explains rather emotionlessly.  
Dib lifts his eyebrow. Is he really supposed to believe a teddy bear? Still weirder things have happened.  
“How do we keep from getting killed?” Dib asks.  
Squee’s emotionless face turns serious as he says, “stay together. If you split up, you’ll be killed.”


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Kio waves to the others as Nny closes the door. She then turns around and examines the room. There’s a flickering, naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling above a metal chair that is bolted to the floor and has braces attached to the arms and front legs. In the far left corner is a wooden table covered with different tools, devices, and weapons.   
“Okay, shall we get started?” Nny asks as he strides over to Tenn. She hisses as he picks her up and puts in the chair. He closes the braces on her arms, keeping her trapped.  
“Nny,” Kio speaks up as he finishes trapping Tenn in the chair, “be careful of her PAK. She can get weapons from it without using her hands.”  
“Really?” he smirks as he looks at the silver and pink PAK on her back, “well we should do something about that.”  
He grabs Tenn’s PAK and begins to rip it off. Tenn gasps as the tubes connecting her PAK to her back start to separate then exclaims in pain when they’re ripped apart.  
Nny examines the strange device before putting it on the table to study later.  
“Just so you know, Irkens can only live for about ten minutes without their PAK,” Kio tells him.  
“Don’t worry. This will take less than five,” Nny says as he grabs a long, sharp knife.  
“Forget it, monkey!” Tenn snaps, “invaders are put through torture immunity classes in the academy. There’s nothing you can do to me that’ll make me crack.”  
“Oh, a challenge! Sounds fun,” Nny purrs as he strides over to Tenn, knife in hand, “Dib said that your weak points are your antennae and PAK. I already got rid of your PAK so let’s play with your antenna.”  
“Um, perhaps I should ask her a question first?” Kio suggest nervously.  
Nny looks at her like he completely forgot she was there then blinks and says,” oh, right, of course.”  
Kio kneels in front of Tenn and says in a slow voice, “okay, Tenn. This’ll be easy if you just answer my question.”  
“Forget it, traitor. I won’t say a word,” Tenn snarls.  
“Look, I know Tak has left that planet already. I wanna know where her new hideout is. So, where is it?” Kio asks harshly.  
Tenn snarls and looks away.  
Kio sighs and stands up, “go ahead.”  
Nny smirks as he steps between Tenn and Kio. He examines her antennae and asks, “so, what are these appendages for anyway?”  
“To sense stuff. In human terms I guess you could say they’re used to hear and smell,” Kio explains, “they’re also incredibly sensitive. Even tugging on them can cause a lot of pain.”  
“Interesting,” he smirks and pinches the tip of her curled appendage between his forefinger and thumb. He tugs on it and giggles at how Tenn starts violently twitching.  
“Forget it. I won’t talk,” she growls.  
“We’ll see about that,” Nny purrs as he lifts his knife up to her antenna, “if just tugging on it is enough to make you convulse, I wonder what would happen if I cut off a little piece.”  
Tenn shivers as the blade runs up and down her antenna. Nny pulls up and slices clean through it like cheese, catching the severed tip before it hits the ground.  
Tenn bites her tongue and forces herself not to scream. Nny smirks at her reaction as he dangles the severed piece in front of her big, pink eyes.  
“So, are you gonna answer Kio’s questions?” he asks.  
Tenn swallows hard and shakes her head.  
He shrugs and pinches her uninjured antenna, “then, let’s cut this one so they match.”  
This time he slices through slowly, making sure Tenn will feel the agony. Tak forces herself not to scream, but a pained moan still manages to escape her throat.  
After he completely slices through the antennae, Nny pulls on her head and forces her to look at him, “are you gonna answer her question?”  
Tenn whimpers and shakes her head.  
Nny smirks and says, “I admire your pride. Let’s see if I can break it.”  
He strides over to his table and drops his knife and the two severed antennae on the top. He picks up a pair of booster cables and something that almost looks like a large car battery. He puts the battery on the floor in front of Tenn and attaches the cables to the bolts on the top.  
“What is that?” Kio asks, always interested in devices she’s never seen before.  
“I call it the Shocker. I made it about a year ago. It’s got very good people skills, much better than mine. It can always get to people to talk,” Nny explains, a malicious grin growing on his face as he plugs it into a nearby outlet.  
He takes the opposite end of the cables and attaches them to Tenn’s antennae, causing a light squeak to escape her throat.  
“Since your appendages are so sensitive –and we don’t wanna kill you right away- we’ll start on the lowest setting,” he says as he kneels beside the Shocker. He turns a dial then presses the green button.  
Kio gasps as she watches an electrical charge travel up the cords and through Tenn’s antennae. But she doesn’t feel shocked, or appalled, or even scared as she watches. She’s completely fascinated. That’s the only word that can describe it.  
She covers her mouth as Tenn starts convulsing and she realizes she’s been holding her breath. She quickly grabs her camera and begins to rapidly take pictures. The only way to remember this feeling is to capture every second of it.  
Nny notices the camera and smirks. He likes this alien girl. Perhaps he should kill her to preserve her memory.  
He looks at Tenn and smiles as she starts screaming. A blood rippling, bone shaking, ear piercing shriek. And he laughs as he shuts off the Shocker.  
“Will you talk now?” he asks.  
Tenn moans and nods her head. Kio smiles and kneels in front of her.  
“Now, where’s Tak hiding?” she asks.  
“Tak’s new base is a space station orbiting Earth,” Tenn wheezes.  
“Space station? I never built her a space station,” Kio points out.  
“This one was already built. It once belonged to Zim,” she explains.  
“I see. Maybe this way we can attack Tak in secret,” she says mostly to herself.  
“No-” Tenn starts to say but stops herself.  
“No? Why not?” Kio asks.  
She squeezes her mouth shut and forces herself not to speak until she notices Nny behind Kio, pinching booster cables.  
Tenn whimpers then exclaims, “alright, I’ll tell you. You can’t attack Tak in secret, at least not with Zim.”  
“Why not?” Kio asks.  
“Because, Tak is working with the Tallest, and they’re able to track Zim’s location,” she explains.  
“How?”  
“His PAK. All Irken PAKs have a small tracking chip imbedded inside. The Tallest are able to track him, no matter where he is.”  
Kio stands up and rubs her aching horns, “that’s how those Irkens kept finding Zim. I have to tell him. As long as he has that chip, we’re all in danger.”  
“Wait, what should I do with her?” Nny asks as Kio runs for the door.  
“You can keep her. Do whatever you like,” she says as she runs out.  
“Okee dokee,” he salutes then smiles maliciously at the terrified Irken girl.  
Kio runs down the hall to the living room. She half notices a boy standing in the kitchen doorway, but she ignores him and runs to the couch.  
“Kio? What’s wrong?” Dib asks.  
“Listen to me,” Kio pants, “Tak is working with the Tallest and they’re able to track Zim’s location. There’s a chip inside Irken PAKs and they track his location and relay the information to Tak. That’s how all these Irkens have been finding us.”  
“What? A chip? I didn’t know that,” Zim exclaims.  
“I have to remove it. As long as it remains in your PAK, we’re all in danger,” she says.  
“You want to tamper with my PAK?” he snaps.  
“It’s not tampering if a genius is doing it. Please? I’ll be careful,” she begs.  
Zim lets out a stressed sigh as he removes his PAK, “fine, but be extra careful.”  
Kio sighs with relief as she gently rests the PAK on the floor. She grabs three different tools from her belt and examines them.  
“I can’t find it with just these. I need more,” she mumbles.  
A small toolbox falls onto the floor beside Kio. She looks up and smiles at Nny.  
“Did you kill Tenn?” she asks as she opens the box.  
“Not yet. I figure she’d make a better study tool then another random homicide,” Nny shrugs as he kneels beside her.  
“Irkens only survive ten minutes without their PAK,” Dib points out, “will you be able to find the chip before time runs out?”  
“Don’t worry,” Kio smiles as she starts a drill, “this will take less than five.”


End file.
